F36 Bad Smell

tfcp · Post by **tfcp** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 12:01 pm

Purchased F36 Trojan last year and it had a bad smell. I gutted out the galley and replaced the Holding tanks and lines, redecked the flooring and all appliances and finally cleaned bilge. However, every now and then I have a bad odor emitting from somewhere I can't seem to locate. If anyone has had this problem and was able to solve it please let me know, I'm at my wits end with this problem.

Stripermann2 · Post by **Stripermann2** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 2:50 pm

Do you have a holding tank vent? Not knowing what sanitation set-up you have, would be hard to know.

If the vent filter is cloggeed or you don't have one, you'll get odors.

You may also try some pool shock to the bilge. Perhaps you have some bacteria growing. A good flushing and application may help.

LandVF36 · Post by **LandVF36** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 5:04 pm

I had a problem when we aquired our F36 where the vent line from the holding tank didn't realy go to a through-hull fitting. The hose was broke behind the locker/closet in the forward stateroom. "stuff" had collected below the false floor and was trapped between the bulkhead walls and the stringers. It was a good 6" deep. Everytime our tank became full, an extra splash was added to the top and it smelled absolutely awful. I figured it out on Saturday when I asked the dock attendant to fill the tank full for a rinse. It never came out the vent, but my forward bildge pump eventually kicked in!

The other problem (read in other posts) is that the Trojan keel is apparently hollow and fills op with water / mold. Several owners have found ways to drill into this area and pump it out / bleach it, and keep it clean.

oldsun · Post by **oldsun** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 9:42 pm

HOLLOW KEEL!

Scott

rossjo · Post by **rossjo** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 9:56 pm

Hollow Keel
OR
Dead Wharf Rat

Peter · Post by **Peter** » Mon Dec 01, 2008 10:26 pm

the way the hull is shaped,water can collect several inches deep beneath the forward state room floor.there is usually a bilge pump there.if the bilge pump fails the water will stagnate and stink.unscrew a floor board section to check. [also hollow keel but if really foul,check the forward bilge as above]

Danny Bailey · Post by **Danny Bailey** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 3:45 am

HOLLOW KEEL. Smells like sulfur or rotten eggs. Cut a hole in each end of it and let the bilge water flush it out.

Dan Faith · Post by **Dan Faith** » Wed Dec 03, 2008 12:45 pm

Hollow Keel, I had this problem and it took three months to finally get the smell out. Bleach, and bilge cleaner many times over now I keep this area dry and no smell.

Danny Bailey · Post by **Danny Bailey** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 8:48 am

I'm not exactly sure where the front and back ends of the hollow are but I can tell you where I put the holes in mine. You can tell where its hollow by tapping with the plastic handle of a screwdriver. You certainly don't want to drill a hole through the bottom. I put the aft hole about 8 inches behind the bulkhead that is between the engines and the water tanks. I first made sure it was hollow by tapping, drilled a 1/2 inch hole and then cut it out to 2 inches square with a jigsaw. My plan was to stick the square bilge pump in it to pump out the keel, but the way the boat sits in the water, all the bilge water runs forward and is pumped out by the forward pump. The front hole is about 12 inches aft of the A/C water intake seacock which is under the floor between the dinette and the head. Here I just drilled a 1/2 inch hole. If pictures would help, let me know and I'll send some. I found this hollow when I was changing the A/C water intake through hull. When I tried to loosen the first bolt, it wrang off and compressed air that smelled like rotten eggs psssssd out of the hole for 60 seconds or more. It stunk so bad I had to get out of the boat until it cleared out. The pressure was splitting the keel hollow cap off the bottom of the boat. I've had other boats with open hollow keels with no problems. I don't understand why Trojan chose to seal theirs and think it was stupid....almost as stupid as the balsa wood coreing they put in the foredeck and flybridge floor. Maybe they had to seal it to satisfy the 'Safety' people that gas fumes wouldn't migrate to the front of the boat, I dunno???

Mac32 · Post by **Mac32** » Thu Dec 04, 2008 1:19 pm

Mine leaked from day one due to not enough resin to fill the mat over the keel in certain areas (pin holes). I drilled, punped it out then cut the hole bigger to put the pickup hose fitting into the hollow keel.

I posted this pic in another thread,

http://www.trojanboats.net/wforum/viewt ... ollow+keel

Danny Bailey · Post by **Danny Bailey** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 9:04 pm

I've had a couple of e-mail requests to post pictures of the holes I cut in the hollow keel cap to get rid of the 'bad smell'. I found this one from my repower. http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee26 ... 0_0518.jpg It shows the holes in the aft end of the hollow. That's a hand pump sticking in the front hole. I used it while on jackstands last winter to keep the keel pumped out so it wouldn't freeze and crack. Next time I go down to the boat I'll take some of the front hole and post them.